Parasite biology

Malaria Centre scientists are using a range of technological approaches to advance our understanding of the molecular details of malaria parasite biology.

This information is required to maximize the chance of developing new drugs and vaccines and has implications for our understanding of how the parasite can survive and spread. Malaria parasites have evolved so that they can evade the human immune response and survive in the population year after year. The genetic mechanisms they use to achieve this are complex and have confounded malaria vaccine production efforts for decades. The gradual advances in our understanding of host parasite interactions have made an effective vaccine a realistic goal. A major question in malaria research is why some people get seriously ill whereas others do not. Studies on parasite and human factors have revealed the complexity of this question and that both of these factors need to be taken into account when designing new treatments.

In addition to work on drugs and vaccines, malaria Centre staff have also developed state of the art molecular techniques to confirm malaria diagnosis.